Wind greets Eddy Meet competitors

Every year, there has to be a weather feature that makes the Eddy Meet difficult for the competitors.

There have been rain-soaked meets, brutally cold meets, brutally hot meets, and a year when the meet was canceled because it snowed.

This year, it was the wind that created problems. A strong breeze from the south created headwind problems for runners and crosswind problems for pole vaulters.

It was horrible, said Saratoga Springs sprinter Madalayne Smith. "The wind pulled me back a bit in the (100-meter high hurdles) semifinals."

"You really have to work twice as hard because it's pushing back at you so much," said Shenenedehowa's Danika Simonson.

Though the wind affected the results, it didn't change who won the various events in the girls division. Smith still ruled the 100 hurdles, cruising to a 1.41 second victory over Shen's Kelsey Hanson in the finals, while Simonson took first place in the 800-meter race with a time of 2:13.19.

"It affects you a lot because it shortens your strides," said Smith, who finished with a time of 14.56 seconds. "It really makes you try to pump your arms (to create speed)."

Michelle Quimby collected another victory in the pole vault, while teammate Lizzie Predmore finished first in the 1,500-meter race for Shen, which placed second to Bay Shore in the team standings by one point (74-73). Quimby cleared 11 feet, 6 inches in the pole vault, while Predmore finished with a time of 4:39.42.

Predmore also joined Alex Burtnick, Gina Stalica and Sam Crisafulli on Shen's first-place 3,200-meter relay team. The Plainsmen finished with a time of 9:41.00.

Colonie's Christina Lenge came away with an Eddy Meet trophy in the 200-meter dash. Lenge defeated Niskayuna's Caitlyn Mills in the finals with a time of 26.09 seconds. Mills finished second with a time of 26.48 seconds.